Russia and China unite for live-fire naval exercises in waters

• Russia and China to hold week-long joint naval drill in the East China Sea.
• During practice, Russian missiles and artillery will fire.
• Japan will raise defense spending and buy long-range missiles.

China and Russia would start a week-long joint live-fire naval drill in the East China Sea on Wednesday as the two countries scale up their cooperation in the increasingly tense western Pacific, said The Russian Defense Ministry.

“The active part of the exercise will include joint missile and artillery firing against air targets, artillery firing against sea targets, and practicing joint anti-submarine actions with practical use of weapons,” the Russian statement said.

The missile cruiser Varyag, which serves as the Pacific Fleet’s flagship, together with a frigate, two corvettes, and two patrol ships from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy will participate in the exercises, entitled Maritime Cooperation 2022, according to a release.

It stated that Chinese planes will also participate.

“The main purpose of the exercise is to strengthen naval cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China and to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” the statement said.

The military in China has not yet responded to the Moscow statement.

While increasing economic aid to its neighbor and increasing bilateral trade to record levels in a boon to Russian business amid Western sanctions, China has so far refrained from overtly denouncing Russia’s unwarranted aggression on Ukraine.

The Russian statement comes less than a week after Japan made the announcement that it would increase its defense spending and buy long-range missiles due to growing security risks.

The upcoming exercises are the latest example of growing Chinese-Russian cooperation around Japan, which has included joint air drills close to Japanese airspace and even the circumnavigation of the main islands of Japan by a joint Chinese-Russian flotilla in 2021. China and Russia are among those threats.

In June, Tokyo claimed to have tracked eight Russian and Chinese vessels within a week as they approached its waters.

Analysts at the time remarked that Japan should be concerned about the military operations of China and Russia.

“Tracking the movements of both Russian and Chinese military forces are a strain on the resources of the Japan Self Defense Forces,” James Brown, associate professor of political science at Temple University in Tokyo, told Media in June.

Also Read

General Mark Milley warns West Point grads of confrontation with Russia and China

On Saturday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley addressed West Point...